


A Better Holiday Than Expected

by afteriwake



Series: Deserving [4]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-05
Updated: 2013-03-05
Packaged: 2017-12-04 10:19:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/709653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly catches a break on Christmas and has a much better evening with Lestrade than she had originally planned on having.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Better Holiday Than Expected

**Author's Note:**

> Answering a prompt from the sherlockmas Afterglow Fest, this one being "Lovers in the snow. Snowball fight? Snow angels? Warming up after? Go nuts!"

Molly was incredibly lucky this year. One of her co-workers felt bad that Molly was going to be at the morgue for twelve hours straight on Christmas day, so she volunteered to come in for three hours in the evening so Molly could go home early. It was all a bit short notice, but their supervisor approved so at six Molly walked out of St. Bart’s to a type of winter wonderland. It had snowed at least three inches while she’d been cooped up in the hospital. She had agreed to meet Lestrade at a local coffee shop that was open late, and when she walked in she saw him sitting at a table, two drinks in front of him. She smiled at that; he had called ten minutes earlier asking her what she wanted to drink, so now she could warm up from the chilly walk. He spotted her after a moment and gave her a wide grin as she got closer. “Something that wasn’t coffee or tea, just like you wanted,” he said, picking up her drink and handing it to her.

“What did you get me?” she asked, taking the drink.

“Apple cider,” he replied. “Topped with whipped cream and caramel.”

She took a sip and shut her eyes in contentment. “I’ve never had this from here before. I think I might have a new favorite drink.”

He chuckled slightly. “Well, I managed to find a nice place that’s open, if you’re hungry. Indian place down the street.”

“Let me warm up and finish this first,” she said as she sat down in the seat across from him. “Have you heard from your daughter today?”

He nodded. “She’s in America with Laura and Laura’s new boyfriend. Los Angeles, to be precise. She had me on the phone while she opened the gifts. Mine aren’t as good, but that’s what I get for being on a copper’s salary.” He shrugged slightly. “She’ll be home a few days after New Year’s. She’s enjoying herself, though, so I suppose that’s what’s important.”

“It is,” Molly said, letting go of her drink and putting her hands on top of his. “You’re a good father, Greg. She’ll remember that a lot longer than she’ll remember fancy gifts.”

He gripped her hands tightly. “I hope you’re right. She’s only ten, though. I still have a few years where I can screw everything up.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Molly said, shaking her head. “You’ll be fine, I know it.”

“She wants to meet you,” he said after a moment. Molly’s eyes widened slightly. “I know we only just started dating, but when we were just friends I told her about you. Did I tell you she’s a budding scientist? She thinks what you do is absolutely fascinating.”

“Maybe when she comes back she can visit the morgue,” she said slowly. “And we could go out and get dinner afterwards, if she wants to.”

He grinned at her. “I think she’d like that.”

“Does she know we’re dating?” Molly asked.

Lestrade nodded. “She was worried I’d be spending the holidays alone, as they got closer. I told her I’d be spending some time with a friend, and she asked if you were just a friend or a _friend_ friend. I had to tell her the truth.” He grinned slightly. “She’s got the soul of a busybody.”

Molly chuckled slightly. “If she’s inquisitive she’d make a good pathologist. Or maybe a good copper.”

“No. I don’t want her getting into my line of work if I can help it. It’s not the greatest lifestyle in the world. It costs you a lot.” He let go of her hands and picked up his own drink, taking a sip. “It almost seems like every week someone’s had a row with their spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend. I don’t want her to have to go through that.”

“I can see why you’d want to protect her,” she said before taking a sip of her own drink. “But she’s young. She may decide not to be a copper or a pathologist. She still has time to make those decisions.”

“Yeah,” He said with a sigh. “I suppose.”

“You just don’t want her to grow up, do you?” Molly asked shrewdly with the hint of a smile on her face.

“No, I don’t. But it’s inevitable.” He took another sip of his drink. “There is one thing I sorely miss about her not being here, and that’s the traditions.”

“What sorts of traditions do you have?” Molly asked, the smile becoming wider.

“We’d watch a silly Christmas movie, like ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ or something like that, and if there was enough snow we’d go out and make snow angels or have a snowball fight. Then I’d cook and we’d have crackers to open, and I’d always make sure she had the paper crown on her head by the end of the night.”

“That sounds like fun,” she replied. “I haven’t made snow angels in years, or had a proper snowball fight.”

Lestrade was quiet for a moment. “You know, in about an hour there are neighborhood kids having a big one near my home. They do it every year, and the adults can join in, too. Maybe we could see if it’s happening this year?”

“That sounds nice,” Molly said with an enthusiastic nod. “And maybe I can cook for you tonight, if you can show me around your kitchen.”

Lestrade grinned at her. “All right, then. That sounds like a good plan.”

“Let me finish this and then we can go,” she said before going back to her drink. It took them about twenty minutes, but then they left the coffee shop and got into a cab. She had never been to his home in the entire time they’d been friends, so she was slightly nervous. They got out of the cab and walked to the nearby park thirty minutes later, and she could see the snowball fight was already in progress. It was quite a bit larger than she had imagined it would be, but soon she was behind a snow fort, lobbing snowballs at Lestrade and anyone else in her line of vision. She had to admit, it was quite a bit of fun.

She’d just gotten done smashing a snowball into the back of his head when she took a misstep and fell down in the snow. She didn’t hurt herself, but she waited a moment and looked up at the sky. A moment later Lestrade was standing over her, snowball at the ready. “Are you going to drop that on my face in retaliation?” she asked with a smile.

“I was considering it,” he said with a wide grin.

“I’ll just get you back later,” she said, and as soon as the words were out of her mouth the snowball landed on her forehead. She reached over and grabbed a handful of snow and tossed it upwards, but he moved out of the way with a laugh and it all came falling back on her face.

“You know, there’s enough snow that you could make a pretty decent snow angel while you’re down there,” he said.

“I could, couldn’t I?” she said. She stretched out and began moving her arms and legs up and down. After about three minutes she stood up with some help from Lestrade and looked at her snow angel. “I made better ones when I was a child.”

“It isn’t all that bad,” he said, walking around it.

“Think you can do better?” she asked.

“I do, but I’ll show you later. I’ve worked up quite an appetite,” he replied.

“I have too, actually,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t we go back to your place and I’ll make us dinner?”

“Sounds like a good plan,” he said. He offered her his hand and she took it, and the two of them walked out of the park, chatting as they walked. It was a very short walk to his home, and he only let go of her hand to let them inside. He turned on the hall light and she took a good look around. It looked very lived in, very comfortable. She had the feeling it would be much like her own flat the more she looked around, she realized as they took off their coats, scarves and her hat. “Kitchen’s off this way.”

She followed him further into his home and was pleasantly surprised when they got into the kitchen. It was larger than hers, and had top of the line equipment. “This is impressive,” she said with a grin.

“It’s what I got for marrying a budding chef,” he said with a slight shrug. “Laura wanted the best of everything, and she wanted a large kitchen. It cost a lot, but I’ll admit it was worth it.”

“So let’s look at what you have and I’ll see what I can cook,” she said, moving towards the refrigerator. She opened it up and looked at everything, pulled a few things out, then closed the door and went to the pantry. “I can make a chicken and rice dish, I think, with vegetables on the side.”

“That sounds good,” he said with a nod. “Do you want me to leave you alone while you cook?”

She shook her head. “I cook alone all the time. It will be nice to have company.”

“Laura never wanted to be bothered while she was cooking, but I’m like you. I like not cooking alone,” he replied. “I had the stools put in so I could help Rebecca with her homework as I cooked.”

“I have something like that at my home, but I never cook for anyone so they never get used.” She began to assemble the dish. “It must be hard when you have to work a long shift and can’t be home for her.”

“She stays with a neighbor who has a daughter her age while I work,” he said, moving over to the refrigerator and getting himself a drink. He held up the bottle to Molly and she nodded, and he brought a drink over to her as well. “It works out fairly well for all of us, because I always make sure I take the girls somewhere if I have a day off to give Janet’s mother and father a break.”

“What sort of things do you do with them?”

“We go to the movies a lot,” he said with a grin. “If my daughter doesn’t become a scientist of some sort she might become an actress. I also take them to museums and other events that they ask to go to.”

“I wish I’d had a father like you when I was young. My father was ill a lot of the time, and my mother was always taking care of him. My sisters and I were usually on our own, which wasn’t so bad, but…it would have been nice to spend more time with our parents.”

“She’ll probably be the only child I have, so I try and spoil her without spoiling her,” he replied. “She’s a good-natured girl, and I hope that quality stays through the teenage years.”

Molly chuckled. “It probably will. She’s got people around who care for her, so she’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” he replied. He changed the topic after that, and the two of them kept up a steady stream of conversation as Molly cooked. An hour later she served the food up and he took a bite. “Really, Molly, you’re a much better cook than I am.”

She blushed slightly. “Maybe you can cook for me sometime.”

“How about later this week, before New Year’s?” he suggested.

“Well, I have night shifts the rest of the week, but I do have Friday off,” she said.

“I have the day shift that day. So we can make plans for Friday and Saturday.”

“That sounds great,” she said with a smile and a nod. “Friday you cook for me and then Saturday I’ll get to show you my place and cook for you again.”

“I think my holiday season is shaping up to be nicer than expected,” he said with an answering grin.

“Mine too,” she said. “I’m very glad you kissed me earlier this month, Greg. If you hadn’t we might both be having a miserable holiday.”

“Well, I certainly can’t argue with the outcome of that one impulse,” he replied. “And perhaps I can kiss you again tonight?”

“I would like that a lot,” she said with a nod.

“Good. After dinner, of course.”

“Of course.” Their smiles at each other widened slightly and then they went back to their food, enjoying a better Christmas than they had planned on. It gave Molly hope that Friday and Saturday would go well as well.


End file.
